The present invention relates generally to computer and welding systems, and more particularly to a system and method providing a distributed welding architecture, wherein a network architecture is employed to enable remote configuration, monitoring, control and business interactivity within a distributed welding environment.
Welding systems reside at the core of the modern industrial age. From massive automobile assembly operations to automated manufacturing environments, these systems facilitate joining in ever more complicated manufacturing operations. One such example of a welding system includes an electric arc welding system. This may involve movement of a consumable electrode, for example, toward a work piece while current is passed through the electrode and across an arc developed between the electrode and the work piece. The electrode may be a non-consumable or consumable type, wherein portions of the electrode may be melted and deposited on the work piece. Often, hundreds or perhaps thousands of welders are employed to drive multiple aspects of an assembly process, wherein sophisticated controllers enable individual welders to operate within relevant portions of the process. For example, some of these aspects relate to control of power and waveforms supplied to the electrode, movements or travel of a welding tip during welding, electrode travel to other welding points, gas control to protect a molten weld pool from oxidation at elevated temperatures and provide ionized plasma for an arc, and other aspects such as arc stability to control the quality of the weld. These systems are often deployed over great distances in larger manufacturing environments and many times are spread across multiple manufacturing centers. Given the nature and requirements of modem and more complex manufacturing operations however, welding systems designers, architects and suppliers face increasing challenges in regard to upgrading, maintaining, controlling, servicing and supplying various welding locations. Unfortunately, many conventional welding systems operate in individually controlled and somewhat isolated manufacturing locations in regard to the overall assembly process. Thus, controlling, maintaining, servicing and supplying multiple and isolated locations in large centers, and/or across the globe, has become more challenging, time consuming and expensive.
One such challenge relates to coordinating, controlling and configuring unassociated welding systems. Conventional systems often require engineers and designers to travel to a plurality of different welding locations to manually change, and/or modify, a current production process. This may involve modifying programs associated with the control aspects of each welder, for example. After modifications have occurred, individual welders may then be tested at each location to verify one particular portion of the overall process. When the overall assembly operation is finally underway however, it may be discovered that some individual welders need to be xe2x80x9ctunedxe2x80x9d or modified in order to integrate with other welding systems contributing to the process. This may involve sending a systems engineer to each welding location in a large assembly operation to modify an individual portion of the process. Moreover, systems engineers may adjust a particular welder in an isolated manner without knowing if the latest adjustment suitably integrates into the overall assembly process. This is both time-consuming and expensive.
Another challenge facing welding systems relates to service and maintenance. Welders are often maintained and serviced according to procedures implemented by operators of the welding systems. Although some operators may adequately service and maintain these systems, quality of the service and maintenance is often up to the training and competence of the individual operator. Thus, a large collection of well-maintained welders servicing an overall assembly process may be at the mercy of another welding system that is not properly serviced or maintained. This may cause the process to stop or be disrupted during service outages relating to a poorly maintained welder. Even under the best of circumstances however, given that many welding systems are operating in an isolated manner, diagnostic information relating to the health of these systems is often not reported or discovered until after a breakdown occurs.
Still yet another challenge relating to conventional welding systems relates to ordering and supplying perishable items for the systems. As described above, these items may include wire, gas, and other components associated with the welding process. These materials are often tracked and ordered by operators or supervisors responsible for the process. This generally involves manually inventorying and keeping track of projected production needs and then ordering supplies long enough in advance so that production may continue. Manual processes such as are involved with ordering and inventory activities are time consuming and often require duplication of efforts by multiple people and departments. When orders are finally placed, mistakes can occur as catalog and/or part numbers are given to suppliers. Additionally, suppliers and distributors often have trouble planning for expected demands, since knowledge of actual product usage may not be gained until the order is actually placed. Thus, conventional isolated welding systems generally require more manual interventions and are harder to account for.
Due to the problems described above and other problems associated with conventional welding systems, there is an unsolved need for an improved welding architecture to facilitate remote monitoring, configuration, control, maintenance and supply to multiple welding systems that may be distributed across large areas or regions.
The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the present invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The present invention relates to a system and method to enable a distributed welding process via a network architecture. The network architecture provides a structure, protocol and remote communications interface between welders, and/or other remote systems, across internal networks and/or to broader networks such as the Internet, for example. These systems may include machinery in a plant production line, supervisory systems, inventory systems, quality control systems and maintenance systems associated with the welders. Communications between these systems facilitates such activities as electronic commerce, distributed control, maintenance, customer support, and order/supply/distribution of welding materials. Thus, the networked and distributed welding architecture of the present invention promotes a new generation of intelligent welding systems that improve upon conventional and somewhat isolated welding systems in favor of higher-level integration to achieve improved quality, productivity, and lower cost manufacturing.
In accordance with the present invention, a network server (e.g., web server) and network interface associated with a welding system enables a networked architecture of welders and/or other networked systems to provide remote functionality within a distributed welding process. This functionality may include remotely coordinating and controlling a plurality of welders and/or network of welders according to a higher-level command and control system in order to facilitate an overall manufacturing and supply process. Multiple welders distributed over large areas may be configured and controlled from a remote system without having to access and travel to individual welding stations. Remote monitoring of the process is provided as feedback in the control and coordination of the welders and is also utilized to enable diagnosis, maintenance and quality control, as well as other aspects that are described in more detail below.
The network interface may utilize one or more public domain and custom sockets adapted for welding communications along with a weld communications protocol to interact with the welder via the network. A configuration component may also be provided to enable remote configuration of the welding system via the network interface. Configurations may include programs and firmware associated with a weld controller, for example, as well as configurations relating to other welding system and/or operating procedures. A remote interface may also be provided that may reside within a browser, for example, to enable users to interact with the distributed welding process via the network server and interface. The remote interface includes monitoring and configuration aspects that enable users to remotely configure, monitor and control a plurality of welders that are adapted in accordance with the present invention. A security component may also be provided with the present invention in order to facilitate encrypted, authenticated and authorized remote welding communications and control over public networks such as the Internet.
The networked architecture of the present invention further enables the overall system of welders to be supplied and maintained. Welding supplies associated with the welders may be monitored either automatically and/or manually from remote systems to facilitate sales and order processing/forecasting in relation to perishable/replacement items relating to the welder. For example, a maintenance schedule may be maintained at the welder to track routine wear of items such as welding tips and other items that degrade over time. At predetermined intervals, orders can automatically and/or manually be transmitted to remote locations for replacement. Other process items such as weld wire or gas, for example, can be monitored and ordered as supplies diminish. Additionally, marketing and sales forecasting is facilitated by collecting and aggregating remote information from a large number of welders distributed across various factories, countries, and continents in a real time manner.